If someone told me ten years ago that we would be reliving Phish shows in 3D movie theatres in 2010, I would have dismissed the idea a futuristic fantasy that belonged in Back to the Future II. But lo and behold, only a decade later, we find ourselves right here. Capitalizing on the newest fad in cinematic technology, Phish 3D, an audio collage of Festival 8 from Indio, California, is now showing in an exclusive one-week engagement around the nation. While fans have given mixed reviews of the feature length film, I felt the concert experience translated quite well to the big screen and beyond, providing a lasting memoir of an unforgettable weekend.

Indio Pollock

Split into three sections, nighttime Phish footage, the acoustic set, and the Halloween set, one obvious strength of Phish 3D is the film’s willingness to cover full songs from beginning to end, as opposed to the usual excerpts documentary-based features include. Without any narration, interviews, or external perspectives, Phish 3D allows the viewer to fully soak in the live concert experience. (I kept thinking that the film would be an excellent introduction to Phish for someone who has never seen the band and isn’t sure they could stomach a show.) Within a society catered to short attention spans, the extensive, uncut footage provided a relief from the modern era of sound bites and highlight reels. The ability to watch the band communicate and develop jams from such an intimate perspective provided a novel viewpoint for those not glued to the rail every show. Watching their eyes lock during the music and their seeing their expressions during peak moments provided a wholly divergent experience. Given the on-stage perspective of a fifth band member, one gained a virtual, first hand point-of-view of the band’s interpersonal dynamics and stage set up, things that I, personally, never see during a show. Phish 3D allowed most to view Indio from an 180-degree different perspective than the actual show, and the two together formed a complete experience. And with the crowd-perspective shots, it often felt like we were right on the plush fields again.

The track selection for the opening segment of the movie couldn’t have been better, featuring an opening run of “AC/DC Bag,” “Stealing Time,” “Undermind,” “Tweezer > Maze,” and “Mike’s,” all complete and uncut. “Tweezer > Maze” stood out as the highlight of this sequence, as it did at the show; and with the varying stage shots of the band slaughtering the jam provided a completely an all-encompassing visual experience. Trey’s passion translated vibrantly throughout the film, and especially during “Tweezer,” as his spirited playing matched his animated and fiery demeanor. Following the “Tweezer > Maze,” the movie didn’t slow down, choosing “Mike’s” as the final jam of the opening section. Any time I can go to the movies and see uncut 3D versions of “Tweezer” and “Mike’s” – it’s a win-win in my book!

The Acoustic Set (G. Lucas)

The second segment of the film featured brief non-stage footage, something the film could have used more of, before showing an extended excerpt from Sunday morning’s acoustic set. The clarity of the audio matched the clarity of the video in a pristine remembrance of a modern morning of lore. While this section may have incorporated one too many songs, the inclusion of “The Curtain (With)” made the entire segment worthwhile, bringing everyone back to the spiritual sunshine of November 1. The ability to see the crowd during the acoustic set really brought the festival to life, as theatre-goers tried to pick themselves out of the colorful ocean of people. This sequence painted a warm portrait of the acoustic set, providing unattainable perspectives of one of the most universally loved portions of Festival 8.

"Loving Cup" (Photo: Graham Lucas)

The final third of the movie covered Halloween, and Phish’s take on The Rolling Stones album, Exile On Main Street. While the footage of the selected songs provided some absolutely priceless moments, this is where the film would have hugely benefited from greater backstage access. Unable to get behind the scenes, less one practice session, the story of Phish’s Halloween tradition was implied but never explained, making the section somewhat confusing for the non-initiated movie-goer. The film only contained a small snippet of the on-site Exile rehearsals, a segment that certainly left the desire for more backstage footage, but for that we’d have to wait for the credits. Clearly a case of limited access, Phish should have foresaw this obstacle and allowed more leeway for the film crew to tell the story of the band’s Halloween tradition.

Trey and Saundra (Unknown)

Nonetheless, the shots of “Loving Cup” and “Shine A Light” provided powerful memoirs of an eloquent night in the polo fields of Indio, California. The up close and personal footage of “Loving Cup” provided priceless perspectives of the “all-time” version, while the inclusion of “Shine A Light,” the cathartic exclamation point to Exile, brought back the most poignant memory of the weekend. Phish and company knew they had nailed the album, and celebrated with its soul-drenched peak. The stellar shots of Saundra Williams and Sharon Jones gave us a much closer perspective of their own fun and enthusiasm, expressions that couldn’t be easily seen live; and they were loving it. After showing a short clip of the band and their guests rehearsing “Suzy Greenberg,” the Exile section concluded with its memorable encore rendition with full-on accompaniment. And just when one thought the marathon movie has come to a close, the film cut to the weekend-ending “Tweezer Reprise.” Perfect.

"Burble" (G.Lucas)

If one shot summed up the absolute exuberance of Festival 8, it had to be during “Suzy.” The camera filmed from behind Williams and Jones, looking out at the stage as the women danced and sang. Meanwhile, with his back to the crowd, Trey, sporting a child-like, aura-encompassing smile, watched Williams and Jones spice up his own concert as if it were part of his dream. And that same dreamlike quality that shone through the expression of our favorite front man embodied the collective spirit that characterized Indio’s blissed out festival; one of the most enjoyable events of Phish ’09.

On the other hand, many people have complained about song selection, camera work, editing, and the such. Really?? I have one question to these purveyors of negativity who complain that a Phish 3D movie wasn’t worthy of cinematic greatness – “Can you still have fun?”

Notes: This show featured the Giant Country Horns. At one point during the show, the crowd was told by the promoter that they were dancing too much, prompting Trey to offer a date with Fishman to the fan who danced best on their chair!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 12:21 am and is filed under Uncategorized.
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541 Responses to “Relivin’ Indio”

Props to the women, yes, women we danced with at the gorge in the pit pageside. Funky dancers, hell of fine, wearing the cocktail dress and sneaker combo, hair up with the chopsticks, getting the fuck down. Hell, my wife would have definitely approved. Hope a few of you get to meet a couple of the females in my crew. They are crazier than any of my guy friends and definitely not scared to give a nice booty a slap. Just sayin.

Sharon Jones and Dap-Kings on Letterman tonight. Also, saw My Morning Jacket in Columbus OH sunday night, great freakin show!! Those guys rock, and the slower songs had some spacey extended jams in them that were real nice too. Highly recommend those guys.

Whats up BBoard…hope the evening was great for everyone….just got my new phone the Incredible and geeking out to all sorts of silliness. I don’t need a phone like this, but now that I have it, it is a fun device that will become more useful as I learn about it.

Holy LOST!!!!

Hope to jump back on here in the next few days. Things have been hectic lately.

if anyone cares to hear a band that truly understand improv and is a decent legacy of phish, listen to the “See The Light” jam on by The Breakfast from 12/29/07. it’s available on the archive. really incredible performance. 25 minute of legitimate unique and tight-knit jamming that is reminiscent of the stench music execs smelt in phish in the late 80’s and early 90’s. they also do an incredible version of “Reba” at that show

Just saw Phish 3D tonight, and have to say it was an outstanding film. Right up there with The Last Waltz and Farewell to Winterland. My personal favorite was Sleep Again; while Trey and the whole band positively glowed the whole show, the vibe and expressions from Trey on this song were palpably different, almost like a child seeing the presents under the Christmas tree for the first time. Throughout the film, though, it was clear there were renewed spirits at play on stage, hosing/channeling the collective miraculous celebration of life. This was a gem of a way to see my first 3D film; I swear there were balloons bouncing right in front of my eyes, much closer to me than the everything else “on stage.” Not being a fan of the Stones, the download of the Exile set hasn’t done much for me, but I loved the song selection on the video, obviously roused by the heart poured into the songs communicated much better on film than via the downloads (wish I had been there!). Sooner or later, it seems, all great rock and roll musicians find the magic in the interplay between rock, blues, and gospel. We’ve got Raleigh, Charlotte, and Berkeley on our plate this summer, and I for one would love to see the band bring out the horns and come-to-jesus gospel backup to each show. On another level, something else I appreciate in this era of phish is the suggestion they provide to a second generation of fans is that there is a clear path to being something; so many of my students and youth seem to be adrift, bereft of hope for a future; phish says to me this year that there is no wrong turn that can’t be righted. As has been chronicled here well by others, the second Band Beyond Description has righted the Ship of Fools before it ran permanently aground. I am grateful for their comeback, for what it may do for us, our course, the effect it may have on our energy. Namaste.

I absolutely loved Phish 3D! I was really worried the 3D would be really gimmicky and pointless. But I actually thought it made the whole experience a bit better. People were actually up dancing in the theater when I went to see it here in Asheville, if that tells you how much everyone was enjoying it. I can only hope that this movie comes out on DVD….3D or not, I want it!